The moment Noah and Rowe burst into the corridor, the sight that greeted them was chaos incarnate.

The once-human fighter, Marlon, stood hunched and monstrous, his blackened veins pulsing with red light, horns twisted high, and claws dripping with the blood of the agents he'd just massacred.

His chest rose and fell in thunderous heaves, each exhale a guttural snarl that reverberated through the narrow hallway.

The corpses of the Authority agents lay scattered, shredded and broken on the floor.

The blood spatters painted a picture of just how easy and quickly the transformation had overwhelmed them.

Marlon turned toward the newcomers, his glowing eyes locking onto them with mindless hatred.

Noah's lip curled into a grim smile.

"Well, looks like the party's started."

Shadows slithered to life at his feet, curling like hungry snakes.

Rowe gritted his teeth at the sight before him.

Blue energy surged around his body, the same hunger affinity beams he had unleashed earlier crackling faintly across his fingertips.

Even without looking at each other, they'd already come to an agreement.

The hybrid before them was more important, so they'd take care of each other after it had been taken care of.

The demon let out a bone-rattling screech before charging, barreling forward with surprising speed.

Noah's tail snapped outward, slamming into the ground as he flash stepped to the side, while Rowe braced himself, raising a shimmering blue barrier.

Marlon's claws slammed into it, the hunger energy sparking violently against the unnatural corruption of the demon's body.

The barrier cracked but held.

Rowe retaliated with a beam of azure light that bored into Marlon's chest, burning away at the demonic essence clinging to him.

Noah didn't waste the opening.

He raised a hand, summoning the spell formation for Pillar of Judgement.

Black fire erupted from the ground beneath Marlon, surging up in a torrent of annihilating flame.

The demon howled as the combined assault forced him back, body writhing.

For a moment, Noah thought it might be over quickly.

But Marlon slammed his claw into the wall, anchoring himself, and roared defiantly.

The stone shattered outward, dust clouding the air.

He lunged again, catching Noah in the middle of his flash step with a backhand.

The impact cracked ribs, sending Noah careening into the opposite wall.

His vision blurred, pain lancing through his chest, but he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to his feet.

"So that's how it's going to be…"

Rowe had stepped into the fray with a snarl on his face.

He ducked under a claw swipe, countering with a heavy strike of raw mana-coated fists that cracked Marlon's jaw.

The demon reeled but recovered instantly, slamming both claws down like hammers.

Rowe rolled aside, blasting him point-blank with another beam of hunger energy, tearing chunks of corruption from Marlon's torso.

Noah rejoined the assault, his tail whipping around to coil Marlon's ankle, yanking him off balance.

In the same motion, Noah stepped in with a spinning kick, his boot smashing into the demon's horned head.

Marlon staggered, disoriented for a split second, and Rowe capitalized by ramming a mana-charged fist into his gut, driving him to the ground.

"Now!" Rowe barked.

Noah's hand flared, the spell formation for Devour blooming as he thrust it downward, shadows surging like a vortex around Marlon to strip away the demonic essence.

The monster writhed, its shrieks tearing through the corridor as the corruption began unraveling.

But then it happened.

A faint thwick echoed through the hall.

A dart buried itself in Marlon's neck, glowing with a sickly purple light.

Both Noah and Rowe froze for an instant, eyes snapping toward the source, but no one was visible.

Marlon's body convulsed, a violent scream tearing free as his veins shimmered brighter.

His muscles swelled grotesquely, horns elongating, and claws lengthening.

The corrupted aura around him surged with renewed vigor, far denser than before.

He batted away the darkness of Noah's Devour like smoke and exploded upward with a roar that shook the very stones.

"Damn it!" Rowe hissed, raising his arms just in time to block a strike that sent him skidding across the corridor, boots carving trenches into the stone.

Noah flash stepped, his rib still aching, but even his speed barely kept him ahead of Marlon's frenzied swipes.

Each attack carried the force of a battering ram behind it, demolishing walls and shattering stone.

The fight had turned.

Rowe launched a barrage of hunger beams, but Marlon plowed through them, tearing chunks from the ground to hurl like boulders.

Noah's Devour swallowed the debris in midair, but the distraction let Marlon slam into him, claws raking across his chest and sending him tumbling.

Blood dripped from his wounds, staining the stone beneath.

Rowe reengaged, fists meeting claws in brutal hand-to-hand.

But the demon's new strength overwhelmed him.

Each clash slowly pushed Rowe back, destabilizing his footing.

A claw ripped across his shoulder, blood spraying, yet he fought on with a snarl on his lips.

Noah staggered upright, coughing blood, but a grin spread across his lips despite the pain.

"Alright then. Guess we do this the hard way."

He flash stepped in, alternating between blows and shadows, his tail striking brutally .

Rowe mirrored him on the other side, the two fighting in tandem, trading strikes with the enhanced monster.

It was brutal and grueling.

For every blow they landed, Marlon dished out punishment of his own.

They weren't taking damage because they were weaker, but because they fought without the intent to kill.

They needed information from Marlon, so they couldn't risk using attacks that would kill him outright.

But in his state, he was too far gone to hold back, and didn't care what happened to his body in the process.

Noah's lip was split, ribs cracked further, while Rowe's arms were slick with blood from gashes.

The corridor became a warzone of shattered stone, flame scorch marks, and cracks running up the walls.

But slowly, ever so slowly, they began to wear Marlon down.

Their combined rhythm started to box him in, each attack pushing him into the next.

Rowe's hunger beams weakened his defenses, and Noah's shadows exploited the gaps.

Finally, with a roar, Rowe drove a fist square into Marlon's sternum, blue energy bursting outward.

The demon staggered back, chest caving, corruption peeling away.

Noah seized the chance, his tail lashing out to coil Marlon's neck, jerking him down as he slammed a Pillar of Judgement into his back.

Marlon shrieked, the flames consuming him, his massive body crashing into the stone.

Rowe stepped forward, battered and bloodied, his expression grim.

He gathered his mana, blue light searing in his hand, and with one final strike drove it down into Marlon's chest.

The demon screamed, then convulsed violently.

The corruption burned away, evaporating in wisps of dark smoke.

When the glow faded, along with all the spells they'd used on him, Marlon's human body lay sprawled on the floor, broken and battered, his face barely recognizable.

He was alive, but only barely.

Rowe exhaled heavily, collapsing to one knee before forcing himself upright.

He waved a hand, summoning his agents forward. "Secure him. Now."

The surviving Investigation Authority members rushed in, chains of enchanted metal snapping around Marlon's limbs.

Rowe stood over the restrained man, his chest heaving.

He turned his head...

But the masked man he'd just fought with was gone.

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